USA > Wisconsin > Winnebago County > History of Winnebago County, Wisconsin, and early history of the Northwest > Part 3
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Their general habits, customs and mode of life were similar, yet varying in a greater or lesser degree. The whole country was one great battle-ground, and the long, intestine strife which, from time immemorial, was waged with implacable fury between the several divisions, resulted frequently in the extermi- nation of tribes-sometimes of nations-and the relapse of a settled district into a wilder- ness. The ravages of war, pestilence and famine frequently decimated a populous nation to a mere remnant, to be absorbed by some more fortunate one. Tribes appeared and dis- appeared, changing locations - some in the process of extermination, others developing new strength and extending their dominion.
Of this latter class were the Iroquois, a pow- erful confederacy of five nations, and which at the time of the arrival of the French were waging a relentless war on the Algonquins and the Hurons. Their location gave them the con- trol of the head of the St. Lawrence and the south shore of Lake Ontario, and consequently cut off all communication between that river and the lakes. They lived in fortified villages which were surrounded with rows of palisades twenty to thirty feet high. £ Champlain describes them very minutely. Three or four rows of trunks of trees, set slanting from the earth upward, intersected each other near the top; at this intersection was constructed a gal- lery, with breastworks and wooden gutters for holding water which could be expeditiously discharged on the palisades in the event of their being set on fire. The galleries contained magazines of stones, to be hurled at assailants, and the villages were supplied with water by sluices running from the lakes. The country of this community was highly fertile, and they cultivated large fields of maize. Their hunting- ground was a large district bordering the St. Lawrence, and eastward and southward to Lake Champlain and the western slopes of the Alleghanies. Their location and resources were most favorable for peace or war, and they made a most industrious use of their oppor- tunities. Their war-parties in large numbers
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EARLY HISTORY OF THE NORTHWEST.
1609.]
ravaged the country in all directions, spread- ing carnage and desolation from the Illinois to the land of their kinsmen, the Hurons and the Ottawas. They were the terror of the Ameri- can wilds, and kept the whole country in con- stant alarm.
The tribes north of the St. Lawrence were chiefly nomads, wandering from place to place in that rough district, and subsisting princi- pally by the chase.
The Hurons, in their delightful country, were more of an agricultural people, and lived, like their kinsmen, the Iroquois, in fortified villages, with adjacent planting-grounds in which they cultivated fields of maize and squash. They numbered from fifteen to twenty thousand.
The Ottawas were their neighbors and friends; but, living in a country better adapted to hunting and trapping, depended more largely on those pursuits for a means of sub- sistence.
Champlain effected an alliance with the two latter nations, and, with them for guides and assistants, was now ready to make those explorations which first made the civilized world acquainted with the geography and resources of the interior of the continent.
CHAPTER IV.
Champlain's Explorations - Indian Allies - War. Dance - Ile Discovers Lake Champlain - Engagement with the Iro- quois.
LARGE number of Indian lodges are clustered on the banks of the St. Law- rence. They are those of the Huron and Algonquin allies of Champlain, assembled preparatory for an expedi- tion; and he must now conform to the demands of Indian custom. Before they start he must join them in the war-dance, and partake of the dog-feast. He is to be their great war-chief, and well did he prove worthy of the leadership.
The night presents a weird-like scene. The camp-fires light up the rugged banks and som- bre forests, the picturesque canoes and groups of wigwams; and in its red glare hundreds of hideously painted savages, making the woods ccho with their discordant yells, are writhing through the contortions of the war-dance; while Champlain and his French companions, clad in steel armor, look like apparitions from the spirit-land.
This preliminary concluded, they proceed on the expedition. Their destination was the
beautiful lake now called Champlain, after its illustrious discoverer. For a distance he pro- ceeded in a small sail vessel, the Indians accom- panying in their canoes. Arriving at a portage, the vessel is sent back, and Champlain, with two of his followers, join the Indians at the portage. The canoes are taken from the water, and the stalwart savages, carrying them on their shoulders, file through the forest trail to the smooth waters above the rapids. Here they re-embarked, and after a day's paddling, the lovely scenery of the tranquil lake, with its green islands resting like emerakls on its crystal waters, grects the delighted vision of Cham- plain. They were in an uninhabited country - the hunting-grounds of the dangerous Iro- quois, whose fortified villages were on its western border.
At night they encamped on the shores of the lake, taking the usual Indian precaution of first reconnoitering the surroundings. The Indians now determined to abandon day travel- ing, and changing their tactics, remained hid in the woods during the daytime, and at night were paddling on their way. During one of these nocturnal voyages, they discovered some dark objects on the water, which they soon found to be a number of Iroquois canoes. The inmates of these also discovered their enemy, and took to the shore, and with yells which made the forest resound, commenced to throw up a barricade of trees, which they felled for the purpose. Champlain and his allies remained on the lake, but approached quite near them. The Indians on both sides agreed to put off the fight till morning, and passed the night in mutual menaces, and boastings of their prowess.
When daylight dawned, Champlain and his two companions put on their steel armor, and with swords and guns, cach took a separate canoc, in which they were kept hidden from the enemy. Champlain's allies now landed in battle array, and the Iroquois, some two hun- dred warriors, came filing out of the barri- calle to meet them. The Algonquins now opened up their ranks for Champlain and his two followers to pass to the front. They did so, and stood revealed to the astonished gaze of the Iroquois, who regarded them as apparitions. Champlain levelled his piece, loaded with five bullets, and as the report echoed through the woods, two war-chiefs fellto the ground. The Iroquois were dumfounded and the allies sent a shower of arrows into their midst. The former rallied from their con- sternation, and returned the discharge with great spirit. But when Champlain and his - Frenchmen began firing their pieces with deadly
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EARLY HISTORY OF THE NORTHWEST.
1610.]
rapidity, the Iroquois fled in uncontrollable terror. The Algonquins fell upon their retreating foe, killing many and taking others prisoners. Champlain was horrified at their atrocious cruelty to their captives, but he endeavored in vain to restrain their ferocity, and turned heart-sick from the repulsive seene of savage brutality.
This was a sweet victory for the Algonquins, and they must now return to their respective villages with their prisoners to exult over the spectacle of the discomfiture and torture of the latter. Champlain was accompanied by them to Quebec. He had taught the Iroquois a lesson, and they had now found a foeman worthy of their valor.
Champlain now returned to France and recounted to the King the results of his obser- vation and the information gained of the coun- try, and in the Spring of 1610 he came back to Quebec, and in that year had another engagement with the Iroquois.
CHAPTER V.
The Policy of France to Incorporate the Indian Tribes into a French Indian Empire- Alliance Formed with the Algon- quin Tribes, for the Purpose of Resisting the Invasions and Ravages of the Iroquois -Attempt to Christianize the Indians, as a Preparatory Step to Their Civilization - The Jesuit Missionaries.
Q10T became one of the first aims of Cham- plain to perfect an alliance between all of the Algonquin tribes and the Hurons; that they might live at peace with each other, and form a mutual protection against- the hostile Iroquois, the whole to be under the guidance of the government of New France. It contemplated the union of the several tribes with the French, their gradual conversion to christianity and civilization, and their practi- eal incorporation with the French into a French-Indian Empire. The alliance was formed and gradually embraced all the Algon- quin tribes, who, although occasionally at strife with each other, maintained an uninter- rupted attachment for the French. The policy of France was to preserve the Indians-not to destroy them. Its weapons of conquest werc kindness, firmness, courage and energy. It did not at that time understand the obduracy with which the Indian clings to his savage inclinations and habits. It was a species of Feudalism and of paternal government, it is true, in which the knights of the forest were the seions of French aristocracy, and their retainers the dusky tribes of the wilderness;
but it certainly sought the good and advance- ment of the Indian, whose improvement and ultimate civilization entered into all its hopes and aspirations of American empire.
The christianizing of the Indians was deemed of the first importanee as a preparatory step to their civilization; and on this task the Jesuit Missionaries entered with a courage, energy and self-sacrifice that the annals of the world does not equal. The Franciscan Friar was the first white man who lived among the Indians. He was soon superseded by the Jesuits, who became the pioneers in western exploration and discovery; making their abode in Indian villages, sharing in all the hardships of savage life, accompanying the Indians in the chase, shooting the dangerous rapids in the fragile bark canoe, or aiding to carry it around the toilsome portage.
The Jesuit Missionaries, a body of men of the highest attainments in learning and scien- tifie acquirements, and of the most indefatiga- ble zeal and heroic fortitude, were especially fitted for the task of exploring the interior wilds; being proficient in the use of mathemat- ical instruments and topographical surveying and map making. They were also well versed in the linguisties of the Algonquin tribes. These self-sacrificing men, animated by the lofty purposes of converting the Indians to Chris- tianity, and of bringing to them the blessings and comforts of civilization, penetrated the remotest sections of the wilderness; there was no danger that they feared to brave, and no hardship and suffering which they hesitated to endure. Through their perilous explorations these Heralds of the Cross pioneered the civ- ilization of the West.
The Jesuit father was the first white man who paddled his cande over these great inland seas and rivers. " Not a cape was turned nor a river entered, but a Jesuit led the way;" and for a number of years they composed, almost exclusively, the only whites living among the Western tribes. The sufferings they endured and the dangers they bravely encountered no pen ean describe. From the St. Lawrence to. the shores of Lakes Superior and Michigan they established their Missions, built their chapels and schools in the midst of the wilderness, and gathered the Indian tribes around the Banner of the Cross and the Fleur de lis of France.
Such were the first civilizing influences of the Northwest. The refinement, dignity and benevolence of the carly Missionaries, and the polished manners and chivalrous bearing of the earlier traders and adventurers, many of whom were French noblemen, favorably impressed the Indians, and the effect of that
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EARLY HISTORY OF THE NORTHWEST.
[1615.
intercourse is still visible after the lapse of two centuries, in the unalterable attachment of the Algonquin tribes for the French, whom they ever regarded as their benefactors.
It is to the Jesuit missionaries that the world is indebted for the interesting historical legacy that is contained in their detailed records of the first century of the white man's inter- course with the Indians, and of the character and habits of the Indian before it was modi- fied by the influences of civilization. They also first nade known to the world the beauty, fertility and rich resources of the Great West; and made its early maps, thus preparing the way for the occupation of civilized man.
The carly history of America can never be written without giving the French Jesuit a most conspicuous and honored place on its pages; and all historians, of whatever religious denomina- tion, have heaped praises upon them, and their super-human efforts in behalf of the Indian. Says Bancroft : "Within three years after the second occupation of Canada, the number of Jesuit priests in the province reached fif- teen, and every tradition bears testimony to their worth:" And Parkman says: "Nowhere is the power of courage, faith and an unflinching purpose more strikingly displayed than in the record of these missions. * *
Their virtues shine amidst the rubbish of error like diamonds and gold in the gravel of the torrent."
In the Spring of 1615 four Franciscan Friars, from France, accompanied Champlain to Quc- bec. When they landed, their peculiar dress was an astonishment to the Indians. They selected the site for a convent, erected an altar and celebrated the first Mass in Canada. Thc assembled multitude kneeled on the bare earth, and the cannon on the ships and fort fired a salute in honor of the event. They then assigned to each his field in the vast territory of their apostolic mission. To Le Caron fell the post of the far distant land of the Hurons.
CHAPTER VI.
The Land of the Hurons - Champlain's Voyage to their Country, in 1615 - A Journey Through the Wilderness of Nine Hundred Miles - Champlain Discovers Lake Huron - Description of the Country of the Hurons, and their Villages -Champlain and his Allies again on the War-path Against the Iroquois.
T a distance by the Ottawa River of some 900 miles from Quebec dwelt the Hurons, on a tract of land whosc northern border was Lake Huron. Champlain had no means of knowing the location of the Great Sea, for Indian infor-
mation, he had learned, was very indefinite. The Ottawas and Hurons had promised Cham- plain that they would guide him to the Great Lakes, Huron and Superior, and to the cop- per mines of the latter, if he would continue to champion their cause against the Iroquois. The communication with the lakes was by the Ottawa River; for the Iroquois were in pos- session of the south shore of Lake Ontario, and controlled the country at the head of the St. Lawrence, so that the lake was not approachable by that river. He, therefore, determined to join a contemplated expedition of the Hurons and Ottawas against their enemy, and thus obtain the escort of the for- mer to Lake Huron. At this time-1615- the only civilized beings on the continent, be- sides those of the little hamlet of Quebec, were the Spainards, of Florida, and the small English colony at Jamestown. The vast wil- derness stretching away for illimitable distances with its great lakes and rivers, its wide- spreading prairies and interminable forests, silently awaiting the coming civilization, was an unexplored, mysterious realm that Cham- plain was now preparing to penetrate. For many years after this, while New England was yet an unbroken wilderness, and the settlers of Plymouth and Jamestown had not passed beyond the borders of their settlement, this fearless and enterprising pioneer had pushed his way into the distant interior, organized the Algonquin tribes and led them in battle array sgainst their inveterate foc; living in Indian camps, paddling his canoe up the lonely river, toiling around the wearisome portage, indus- triously mapping the topography of the coun- try; and then away across the broad Atlantic, to mingle in the court circles of France, and inspire renewed aspirations for French Ameri- can empirc.
In the summer of 1615, a large body of Ottawas and Hurons appear at Mont-royal, with their ycarly harvest of furs. Their canoes and lodges line the river shore, and thither repaired Father Le Caron, to prevail on them to allow him to accompany them to their dis- tant homes and take up his abode among them. To this they consented; but the Indians were more desirous of Champlain's assistance against the Iroquois than of their spiritual advancement, and hence eagerly importuned him to Icad them against their enemies. A council was held, in which it was agreed that Champlain, with all his force, should join them, while they were to muster twenty-five hundred warriors. He then went to Quebec, to pre- pare for the expedition; but on his return was disappointed to find that his allies had disap-
1613.]
EARLY HISTORY OF THE NORTHWEST.
17
peared, and the site of their encampment a solitude. Indian-like, becoming impatient at his delay, they had started for their country, Father Le Caron accompanying them.
The fleet of canoes, with hundreds of Indians, glide gracefully along the sparkling waters of the Ottawa, and the Father bids adieu to the last vestige of civilization. All day long they ply their paddles, and at night the wild banks of the Ottawa are lit up with their camp- fires. In a letter, Le Caron writes: "It would be hard to tell you how tired I was with paddling all day long, with all my strength, among the Indians, carrying the canoe and luggage through the woods to avoid the fright- ful cataracts. "
Champlain immediately followed with two canoes, several Indians, his skillful woodsman, Etiene Brule, and another Frenchman. They ply their paddles, and the canoes glide silently along; sometimes under the sombre shadows of overhanging forests, and again, past rugged cliffs torn by the convulsions of nature. At places the river flowing placidly through a soli- tude that seemed like the weird quiet of dream- land, and anon the sound of the cataract is heard, first, like a plaintive moan in the far distance; louder and louder falls on the ear the sound of the falling waters; and now appears the foaming torrent, tearing its way among the jagged rocks and overhanging cliffs, and pour- ing its impetuous flood with a din that roars its varying cadences through the ever-listening forest. The canoes are lifted from the water, and carried along the portage trail, which sometimes winds among the barren cliffs, and again stretches its wearying line under the dark shadows of the overhanging spruce, fir and hemlock. The smooth waters are at last reached, the portable canoes are once more afloat, and they are again paddling on their way. Night comes. The camp-fires light up the forest with a ruddy glare; the evening meal is prepared; the wild duck, venison or trout is temptingly roasting on forked sticks; the sagamite is ready, and the voyagers, with ravenous appetites, make their repast. The forest bed of hemlock boughs is quickly pre- pared, and soon all are stretched for a night's repose.
The summer breeze sings its mournful cadences in the tops of the lofty pines, the river murmurs its gurgling melody, and the rustling leaves join in the softened music of the forest night. At times the hoot of the owl is heard, or the howl of the prowling wolf. And again, the sound of distant voices startle the sleeper's ear, now approaching nearer, now afar, at times clear and distinct and then dull
and undefined. They are not human voices, these mysterious, weird-like conversations that are heard only at night in the deep recesses of the forest.
Morning comes; the meal is quickly pre- pared and eaten, and the travelers again on the way. Day after day they paddle their canoes, or carry them around the portages. Occasionally the scene is varied; they enter a lake and camp on its wooded islets; wild ducks sport on its surface and the moose is seen browsing on its shores. Again, the architecture of the beavers is discovered, where their skillfully constructed dams have confined the waters.
On, and still on, they follow the turbulent Ottawa, and reach the Lakes of the Allu- mettes; and again follow the river flowing through a rocky gorge. Rough water is again encountered, and rapids after rapids are passed. At last they reach a small tributary which they ascend to a portage leading to Lake Nippissing; soon their canoes are mov- ing over the glassy surface of the transparent waters. They ply their paddles, and an Indian village is reached. Here they remain two days, fishing, hunting and feasting on the proceeds of the sport. They then descend the little stream called French River. While on this route their provisions give out, and they are compelled to resort to the blueberries and raspberries, of which an abundance is found. Here they meet a large body of Indians gathering blueberries, and learn from them that it is but a short distance to the sea of the Hurons. Champlain was soon to feast his eyes on the long-coveted sight. The canoes are again on their way. The sound of the waves are now heard breaking on the beach - the ceaseless moan of the restless lake as it chafes the " controlling shore." And now the watery expanse, stretching away as far as eye can reach, and only bounded by. the dim horizon, greets his delighted vision! The great inland sea of the Hurons is discovered! The broad lake, with its spirit-haunted islands, lies before him in its lonely grandeur !! And as Champlain stands on the wave-worn peb- bles that have rolled for countless centuries in its breakers, and gazes on the boundless expanse of waters, he conjectures what may may lie in the distant realms of the invisible shore beyond; while fancy pictures to his imaginings the wings of commerce in the aftertime, dotting its surface in their busy flights, and the noisy industries of the future invading its solitude, and arousing it from its lonely dream of ages.
They now coast along the shore of Lake
3
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EARLY HISTORY OF THE NORTHWEST.
[1613.
Huron for over a hundred miles; the first white man except Le Caron, who had preceded them, that ever paddled over its surface, and, reach- ing the Bay of Matchedash, debarked. Here they took the trail, which led through a beau- tiful country. He was in the land of the
Hurons. The growing crops of maize and squash were abundant, and he found evidences of Indian thrift and comfort that he had never before witnessed. It was a land of plenty; the broad fields and meadows, with running brooks, and the populous villages afforded a pleasing contrast to the wild desolations through which we had so long traveled. It was the center of a dense Indian population. In the whole tract occupied by the Hurons, there were about twenty villages, with an aggregate population of fifteen to twenty thousand. The lodges were constructed of stout poles covered with bark, and were from thirty to fifty feet in length, somewhat sub- stantially built, as these were permanent dwellings, and not like the temporary wigwam of the nomad. On each side was a platform four feet from the floor; this was the sleeping place. In convenient places were stored the bark boxes of smoked fish and meat, and on poles traversing the entire length were sus- pended implements of the chase, clothing furs and clusters of cars of corn. The fire was made on the ground, the smoke escaping through an aperture in the roof. Some of the houses were nearly two hundred feet in length, and in those larger houses, generally those of chiefs, the councils were held. Here at times met the assembled wisdom of the nation. The deliberations were conducted with the greatest decorum and dignity; it being Indian etiquette to never interrupt a speaker. The Jesuits were astonished at the good sense displayed, and the frequent bursts of eloquence which electrified the savage audi- tors. They had their questions of great moment, which agitated the community, and the orator and politician of the forest was at such times, in great requisition.
At one of the villages Champlain met Le Caron. The Indians had built for him a bark lodge, and in it he had erected an altar. On the day of Champlain's arrival, the little band of Christians gathered around the altar in this humble lodge, the father in priestly vestments, and joined in thanks that they were made the instruments in the introduction of christianity and its attendant blessings to this far-distant land.
Champlain explored this country in all directions, visiting the several villages, in all of which he was feasted and honored with duc
Indian ceremony. He was delighted with the country, its open fields and fertile planting grounds; its thickets of wild plum and crab- apple intertwined with grape vines, and its luxuriant forests of oak, hickory, maple, lin- den and walnut, traversed by intersecting trails, leading from village to village. But this indefatigable explorer had now exhausted all the knowledge to be gained in this locality, and he must away to seek new fields for con- quest.
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